Cricket-bat



man sTkTEs PATET Erica.

M. DOHERTY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

CRICKET-BAT.

Speccation of Letters Patent No. 23,017, dated February 22, 1859.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, M. DOHERTY, of Boston, in the county of Suolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cricket-Bats; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming part of this specification, in which- Figures l and 2 are longitudinal views of a bat with my improvements, which I term the combination cricket bat taken at right angles to each other, and exhibiting the bat partly in section. Fig. 3, is a transverse section ot the blade of the bat. Fig. 4,

is a transverse section of the handle.

The object of my invention is to construct a cricket bat that will not be indented or bruised by the ball, in use, and will not sting or jar the hand in striking the ball, like the common bat, and that, while being lighter, will send a ball a greater distance than the common bat; and with the above end in view, the nature of my invention consists in constructing the blade of the bat with a mere shell of wood and a filling of cork, or other material of substantially similar elastic character, and in constructing the handle of a hollo-w tube of wood with a strip of whalebone or other elastic material of substantially similar character running through its center and down into the blade.

To enable others to construct cricket bats according to my invention, I will proceed to describe it with reference to the drawings.

In applying my improvement I construct the bat of about the usual size and form, making the blade A, and handle B, separate, and each of one or more pieces ot' Wood. The blade A, whether made of one piece, or of two or more separate pieces, is divided longitudinally in-a plane as near as possible parallel with its face c, as indicated by the line b, o, in Figs. 2 and 3, and each half hollowed out to receive the filling o, c, which I at present prefer to make of cork, but which may be` made of other moderately elastic substance.

The handle B, whether made of a single piece or of two or more separate pieces is divided longitudinally in a plane at right angles to the face of the blade and hollowed out in the form of a tub-e as shown in Fig. 4, and between the two parts there is inserted a fiat strip of whalebone, CZ, or other material of similar spring -like character which is made long enough to extend some distance down into the blade, as shown in the section, Fig. l. The wooden partof the handle on each side of the strip d, is also tapered and fitted into an opening provided for it in the blade, as shown in the lastmentioned figure.

The several parts of the bat, made and fitted together as above described, are united by gluing. The combination bat thus produced is of a weight less than Jfour fifths that of a comon bat of the same size. The lightness thus obtained is what has been aimed by all bat manufacturers, and will be appreciated by practiced cricketers.

Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. Constructing the blade of the bat of a wooden shell with a filling of cork, or other elastic material, substantially as described.

2. Construct-ing the handle of the bat of a wooden tub'e with a central strip of whalebone, or` other elastic material of similar character, running down into the blade, substantially as herein described.

M. DOHERTY.

Witnesses:

JAS. M. MURPHY, M. MEADE. 

